


If I Could Change It All

by WhoReallyKnows



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Marichat, Time Travel, adrienette - Freeform, drowning so if you are triggered by that please don't read, wowie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-06-08 08:11:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6846526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoReallyKnows/pseuds/WhoReallyKnows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was an accident, this wasn't supposed to happen. If only he had been faster, stronger. If only he hadn't missed.<br/>A tragic accident forces Adrien to combine both Miraculous's and travel back in time in order to save Marinette from a horrible fate. Can he do it, or will he fail his lady again and again for all eternity?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fear

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who finally posted something? Me ! This was going to be a one shot, but then my 2 am caffine fueled brain said "LMAO NOPE" and yeah. I got over my writers block! I'm so happy I can write again, it's been over half a year. Please enjoy this fanfiction and have a wonderful day !

fear

_noun_

  1. an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.



 

That’s all Chat could feel that moment. The insurmountable fear of losing the one person in the world he felt he could give his heart to.

She had done everything right. She captured then purified the akuma, and cast her healing spell. Why was she still being washed downstream? Why wasn’t she using her yoyo? Why wasn’t his lady getting out of the water?!

Chat’s screams could be heard echoing down the empty abandoned streets. “My lady, hold on!”  Tears streaked down his face as he kept rushing towards her. His blood was running cold, but his muscles were searing hot. _Just a little faster._

“Chat! C-chat, the current’s really fast! I can’t-” Her reply was cut short, her body being pushed and pulled by the current created by the seine's dam. She was oh so desperately trying to pull herself up for air but just couldn’t. Not against the weight of the water pulling her to what would be her watery grave.

"I’ll save you my lady! Just keep your head up!” He yelled back, his voice becoming hoarse. He tried to keep up with her, but he knew his window of time was running thin. There was a low-head dam ahead, and if he didn’t grab her soon, she would go over it and be caught in it’s whirling underpull.

So close, he could almost reach her. He reached out his hand, grasping for hers, their fingertips brushing before he went to grab her hand. “I got you!”

His face turned pale as a sheet.  He’d missed.

Ladybug slipped over the dam, her eyes widening in horror and she was completely submerged. She let out a scream before it was completely silenced by the sound of rushing water. Chat ran over to try to grab her again, but she wasn’t coming up. He was about to jump in to find her when a pair of raven pigtails and a grey jacket floated up at the water’s boil. He knew those twin-tails, and he knew that jacket all too well.  His stomach tightened, and his vision start to spot.

He barely even registered the air flowing out of  his lungs as he let out a heart shattering scream of “Marinette!”, much less the scream itself. He jumped in, safety rules be damned. He swam as fast as he could and gripped onto the body as hard as he could. He dragged it to shore, screaming for help as loud as he could.

 

Fortunately, someone already had collected their wits and called the emergency medical services. The EMS unit had already arrived when Adrien had placed her on the cold pavement. He could hear Alya’s screams and wails as she tried to push through the police barricade. He took one look at her face and immediately regretted it. In Alya’s eyes were fear, confusion, betrayal, hurt. Alya looked like she had been the one who drowned and not Marinette .

 

He turned back to Marinette, and the EMS team trying to save her. They wasted no time clearing Marinette’s airway and started chest compressions almost immediately. Chat couldn’t bare to watch as they ripped the wet clothing off. Drying her off as best they could, The EMS unit applied the AED and proceeded to try to revive the fragile hero. It took three rounds of alternating between compressions and shocks, but once shock was no-longer advised she was promptly transported to the nearest medical center.

He turned around to watch the ambulance leave when he saw as some of his classmates gathered around. They had tears filling their eyes as they watched their class president be rushed away in an ambulance. Their faces all screamed the same expression; ‘Why?’  

 

* * *

 

Twenty minutes had passed tween when Marinette arrived at the hospital, and finally someone had the sense to call her parents. By the time Tom and Sabine had been alerted of the incident, Marinette had the odds stacked high against her. They rushed to the hospital, but things were already almost over.

Even though she was only under for two minutes, and had stopped breathing for four and a half, hypoxia had been set in. She was unresponsive by the time she reached the hospital and as unable to breathe on her own. Due to the water temperature, she also suffered hypothermia. And to top it all off, she had experienced asphyxiation which led to cardiogenic shock. Each one a life-threat by themselves.

At the very least, they said she would come out permanently disabled due to brain damage. So much for her being the embodiment of good luck.

All that night, Chat refused to leave the waiting room. He refused to eat, sleep, or even leave to the restroom. What if he missed some important information about his princess, who somehow turned out to be his lady as well? Hours passed, yet he still didn't move. 

Now, there was another thing he was processing, besides his lady’s chances of survival, while he waited. His lady, the strong, brave, and smart Ladybug was also the shy and timid girl who sat behind him in school. How did he miss it? _How could I have not known?_ This was only one of the many questions running though his mind. _How could this have happened?_

_How could I have let her down?_

_Is she still alive?_ The final question beat against his conscious as he stared at the soft grays of the waiting area. He felt like someone had just impaled him through the chest, leaving a gaping hole where his heart was. What if she wasn't.

The doctor came in, and Chat's head shot up and looked him dead  in the eyes. He sat there with bated breath waiting for anything about his princess. About Marinette. 

All it took was for the doctor’s first two words that let him know everything that had happened and for his whole world to collapse in on him.

“I’m sorry, but…” That’s all he needed to hear to know. He turned to look and he saw Sabines eyes fill with tears and pain. He saw Tom hold his wife closer as they took in the information. And him? He just stood up and walked away. He walked away from everything. He heard people calling after him, but he couldn't be bothered to listen. He just kept replying the doctors words in his mind.  

_After hours of fighting for her life, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was declared dead at 1:25 A.M. October 25th, the year of 2016."_

He just continued walking all the way home. He knew what needed to happen next. He knew what he had to do next, and if he waited any longer, he wouldn’t have the strength to do it. He needed to take, and then pass on her miraculous.

 

* * *

It had been two months since the incident, and Adrien was sitting on his bed staring up at the ceiling in silence. Since he couldn’t bring himself to go looking for a new Ladybug just yet, he pierced his ears and placed the earrings in to make sure they weren’t stolen.

After that, Adrien took care of all the Akumas. But, they were growing increasingly harder for him to handle alone. They all soon realized that the time to pick a new Ladybug was growing extremely close. But, no one wanted to move on yet. Giving up the Miraculous to a new chosen would force them to fully realize that Marinette was gone, and was never coming back.

“Should we?” Plagg looked at his counterpart solemnly.

“It’s too dangerous, you know what could happen?” She whispered, keeping her head down.

“It’s better than this. Tikki, this was all a freak accident. You and I both know this was not supposed to happen. Our string of fate was prematurely cut. There is no way for Chat to form another bond in time with a new Ladybug in order to stop Hawkmoth's Akumas.” Plagg muttered, looking at Tikki with a rare look of seriousness. “This is our only option, really. This is for the sake of the world, not just Marinette.”

“Plagg, are you sure? I want her back as much as you and Adrien do, but this could backfire horribly…” She muttered, staring at the ground. She had lost many charges, but not like this. Not as soon, not as violently as she had Marinette. 

“Like I said, only other option. And I’m going to be honest, it’s the option that least sucks ass.” Tikki’s blues met Plagg’s greens, and she nodded slowly before turning her face to the homosapian male. “Adrien.”

“Yeah?” Adrien sat up and glanced over to the small beings, clutching onto his pillow tight. He really wasn't in the mood to talk.

“Kid, as you know, the reason Hawkmoth wants the miraculous is because they hold the power of gods. When certain Miraculous’ are joined, they create a special power. Tikki and I’s in particular is time travel. We have the opportunity to change the time line, however, there is a catch. Under no circumstance except for a dire one are we to use this power.” Adrien’s eyes were pretty big at that point. Why was Plagg telling him this? To taunt him? Telling him there was a way to bring Marinette back and then saying they couldn’t do it is just cold.

Then again, Plagg was a sadistic fuck.“This, however, is dire. You have no time to form a bond with a new Ladybug, nor to even find one. This is our only other option. But before you agree to anything, let us explain what this power entails.” Never mind, Adrien Agreste retracts the earlier statement about Plagg being a sadistic fuck. He’s only a slight sadistic fuck.

Adrien just stared at them in disbelief as Tikki started to explain the rules of time travel. He barely registered them talking, he only had one thing on his mind. _The chance to... change it all?_ Could he really do that? Could he really alter the timeline in order to do this? Bring someone back from the dead? Of course he could, because it was for his Ladybug. He would save her, even if he died in the process.


	2. Inquiry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's dun fucked it up now. He watches carefully for any changes in Marinette, but he can't seem to pin point any. And unfortunately, Nino notices his off behavior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao here  
> It took me forever to write so please forgive me

Adrien opened his eyes and blinked furiously as the light attacked his corneas. His head was pounding , his ear rung, and he felt like puking. “What the actual hell, Plagg. Why didn’t you tell me this was gonna hurt so much?”

“I did, you were just too enthralled about the chance to see your lady again to hear me.” Plagg spat, slightly annoyed with his charge’s inability to listen.

“Oh.” Adrien flushed in embarrassment. He really had been too enthralled with the idea of having Marinette back that he kinda tuned out parts of Tikki and Plagg’s explanations. “Mind going over everything again, just so I know I got everything?”

“You don’t give me enough cheese for this.” Plagg scoffed. “Alright, but this is the last time. Number one, you can’t let Ladybug know you know her identity. That could seriously mess up the timeline and kill us all. Second, you have to keep both you and her alive till 1:24 AM tomorrow morning to get out of the twenty-four-hour time-loop. And finally, you can’t leave this time space until it’s all done. Not even death can let you escape. You still with me, bug for brains?” Adrien nodded, barely registering the insult.

“Yeah, I’m still following.”

“Good. The seeming immortality has caused many of our charges to go insane, so the quicker you save her the more of your sanity you’ll have intact. Got it?” He finished impatiently, staring Adrien down. Adrien would deny it, but at times, the tiny black cat was actually terrifying.

“Got it.” Plagg nodded in contentment with Adrien’s answer before floating over to the mini fridge.

“There better be some fucking cheese in here.” He muttered, scouring it till he found what he wanted. “You better get some sleep, kid. It’s midnight, and you have school tomorrow. Don’t you have that Chemistry test tomorrow?” Adrien mentally face palmed. That’s right, he had forgotten his book at school that night and couldn’t study for the test.

“Shit.” He whispered, not wanting to wake anyone up. “Good job, Agreste.”

“No use worrying about it. Here, eat some cheese. It’ll help you sleep.” Plagg brought the offending food to Adrien’s face, but it was soon rejected.

“I’m good.” He chuckled. “My clothes already smell like that stuff, my breath doesn’t need to match.”

“Suit yourself, more for me then.”

* * *

The morning passed by like it would have in his time line. Nathalie giving him a polite good morning, him eating alone, and then stuffing his pockets with cheese. The only eventful thing that morning was him finding out that the water hadn’t warmed up as quickly as he had hoped.

Fast forward a few hours, Adrien was making his way to his homeroom seat. He couldn’t stop this feeling in his stomach. The anticipation of seeing her almost made him was to explode. He hadn’t seen her in so long, he didn’t know if he was going to be able to cope with it.

He was so out of it that when Nino came over to talk, Adrien just said ‘uh-huh’ to everything.

“Did you shit a sheep last night?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you pick your nose?”

“Uh-huh.” This continued without Adrien’s knowledge before Nino’s attention went off to Alya. Alya even joined in, getting him to say some pretty stupid things too.

"Have you peed yourself?"

"Uh-huh."

“Have you eaten a mouse before?”

“Uh-hu-! Wait, what?” Adrien’s stomach clenched in fear. Too close to home, too close for comfort.

“We’re kidding, you totally spaced! What, got something heavy on your mind? Is it a girl?” Alya wiggled her eyebrow, leaning towards him. Adrien rolled his eyes and forced himself to chuckle. While yes, it was a girl, it wasn’t the way Alya would have guessed. _I mean, thinking about her best friend and how she’s been dead for two months isn’t exactly something I can say._

“It’s not like that, Alya. I just didn’t get enough sleep last night. I was actually woken up by a cat-” The sound of a crash cut him off.

Marinette, being Marinette, was late as per the norm. Not late enough to warrant a detention, but late none the less. She had slipped while walking in the door and fell right into the trashcan, effectively tipping it over and spilling the contents everywhere. Adrien bolted from his seat to help her, placing the pieces of trash back into the bin and helping her up.

He stiffened as her eyes met his, her lips pursed and cheeks rosy red. His heart rate sped up, and tears pricked his eyes. There she was; A walking, talking, breathing Marinette. His lady. “H-hey, Adrien, are you o-o-okay?” She said, looking at him concerned. She had noticed his staring, and unintentionally stared back. She didn’t quite know what his face was saying, but she could easily piece together the distress. What on earth had happened to her golden boy?

Adrien, who no longer gave a fuck at this point, grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace. She was so warm, so soft. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, and it was heavenly.

“A-adrien?!” she squeaked, her face going tomato red. This was the most physical contact she and the young Agreste had shared that she knew of. She shyly hugged him back, not sure what else to do. “Are you okay?”

“Woah!” Alya stared with her jaw dropped, but then gave marinette the most shit eating grin they’ve ever seen. “What’s with all the PDA?” With a wink, Alya, the sadist-of-sadists, watched Marinette dissipate into a blubbering puddle of shyness.

Eventually, Adrien had realized what the situation was. He promptly let go and apologized to Marinette. Marinette tried to assure him it was alright, but he felt slightly embarrassed for squeezing the life out of the girl.

After Adrien returned back in his seat, Nino immediately bombarded him with questions.

“Dude, what was that?!”

“I just thought she might want a hug, that’s all.”

“You held her for, like, five minutes!”

“Sometimes hugs need to last awhile.”

“Okay, but like, listen,” Nino took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. “I call bullshit. What’s going on? You’ve been spacey all day ! Even when you’re tired, you aren’t this spacey. Did something happen?”

Adrien sat there in stunned silence. Was he really that bad? _Geez. Good job, Agreste. Now they’re suspicious._ Next tactic, denial. If that didn’t work, he’ll have to play it cool and just casually barf all over Nino. Being sick and delusional works well, but he’d rather that be a last resort.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, and quite frankly I’m offended.”

“Offended at what?! Agreste, you’re going to agetwrecked in a few seconds.”

“Fight me. Meet me at the pit.”

“I will.” Nino folded his arms and took a defensive position in his chair.

“Good.”

“If I win, you tell me whats wrong.”

“Well, seeing as I won’t lose, I accept the deal.” Nino smiled at his bud, knowing that Adrien was going to be okay if he was willing to fight. Rock-paper-scissors can get pretty intense, and if he was up to that, then it couldn’t be that bad, right?

Their classes proceeded without a hitch. It was all good and swell, and they were almost dismissed for lunch, until Chloe didn’t agree with a project due date.

“Mme. Bustier, I have a hair appointment that day, and I just simply can’t finish the project in time!” Chloe threw her arm over her forehead in a dramatic fashion, causing the poor teacher to become even more irritated.

“Miss Bourgeois, if you can’t learn the discipline of deadlines, how are you ever going to make it in the world? You father won’t be the mayor forever. And he won’t have money forever.”

“Are you implying that my father will be poor one day?!”Adrien remembered this conversation. He knew exactly where it was going, too. He had to stop a small smirk from forming on his lips.

“No, I’m telling you that one day you have to grow up. Now sit down and allow me to continue going over the details of the project with the rest of the class. You a distraction to the rest of the class, so I have to ask you to please go to the principle's office.”

“I’ll call my father, then we'll see how your attitude changes!” Marinette, who honestly just wanted to go eat lunch, had had enough.

“Chloe, I can’t stand this anymore. Stop, just stop. She is the teacher, you are the student. Deal with it, you’re sixteen years old!” Marinette stalked her way over to Chloe, towering over her as she continued the speech. “Stop acting like a four-year-old! Everyone else wants to go eat lunch and pass this class. So can you please, for once in you damn life, stop being so petty and just shut up!”

“Everyone here, for your information Marinette, agrees with me.” Chloe stated haughtily, shoving the asian girl back. “Don’t you?” She said, eyeing down their classmates.

“We really don’t,” Kim spoke up, crossing his arms.

“We all just want to finish the semester, and the longer you keep us with these project extensions, the longer it takes.” Max chimed in, following everyone else’s glare at the narcissistic girl.

Chloe let out an indignant scoff, turning back to Marinette. “Don’t you know who I am, bakers girl?”

“How could I not, you throw your title around like it’s as common of a word like bread. The real question is, is do you know who I am? I am the class president.” _And Ladybug_ , Adrien thought “And I help keep order in the class. So Chloe, you can take your things, and leave to Mr. Damocles’s office.”

Chloe snarled, but picked up her things anyway, shouting about how her father was going to hear of this. Mme. Bustier had a smile on her face the rest of the class, obviously proud of her student for sticking up for her and he rest of the children.

When it came time for lunch finally, Adrien and Nino dueled it out in a rock paper scissors contest. The score was 5:5, the best out of ten won. “Let the best man win.” Adrien announced, he and nino turning their backs for the final time.

“Ready? Rock, Paper, Scissors, Sho-!” A ear piercing scream echo’d in the distance. The ground beneath them shook as some student screamed out

“Guys, it’s an akuma attack!” His stomach tightened. This was it, this is where everything went downhill. This is where he had lost his lady. But this time, it was going to be different. He was going to save her, he was going to get them both out alive to live another day.

Adrien was long gone before anyone could even notice he’d left. He quietly slipped into the men’s locker room. Plagg zoomed out of his bag and stretched a bit, before looking to his charge.

“You ready?”

“Plagg, this is it! Have you noticed anything off about her today?”

“Nope.” Plagg said, a rare genuine grin across his face. “We might be able to pull this off as a hole in one!”

Adrien didn’t know what he had stopped, but obviously he stopped something. “Then lets go! Plagg, Transform me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave comments / kudos they make me a happy magical girl


	3. Entropy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawkmoth is a butt, but tiredness is an even bigger one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while. Sorry, I've been busy. But here! Seven Pages of S I N. 
> 
>  
> 
> (I do not own Miraculous; Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir)

entropy

noun

1 The lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.

The whooshing sound of the wind violently hit Chat Noir’s ears as he hurdled towards the fight. This time, this time he wasn’t going to lose her.

This time, he’d win.

By the time he got there, it already looked like a war zone. Nothing he hadn’t seen, though. Easily fixed by the Miraculous Cure, he knew that. But, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of unrest at the sight.

“Hey Kitty-Cat, you finally decided to show!” Chat looked over to spot his lady engaged in one on one combat with the Akuma. Ladybug smiled at him as she flawlessly dodged a blow. She was the epitome of perfection, how had things gone so horribly last time?

“ _How about instead of ogling her, you help her? I know, it’s an insane suggestion. But before you burn me at the stake, how about you try it out?!_ ” Plagg hissed inside his head.

_Right. Fighting. That’s a thing._

“Couldn’t leave you hangin’, my lady! You aren’t spiderman!” He reached for the yo-yo that was no longer by his hip. _Oh, yeah. I’m not Lady Noir anymore._

Fighting as only Chat Noir again had been a bit difficult to get used to, but he’d manage. After all, he had someone to watch his back again. Everything was going so smoothly, It was perfect.

Until Chat noticed that she had stumbled while running after the enemy. His stomach dropped. Had she gotten hit and he hadn’t seen it? _It was probably nothing, I’m imagining things_. He dismissed it as nothing. Until it happened again.

“Ladybug, you okay? You seem off today!” He yelled, glancing over at her.

“Yeah I’m okay, just a little tired, you know? Hawkmoth doesn’t exactly give a damn about our sleep schedules!” She tried to pass her yawn off with a chuckle, but he saw it.

 _Maybe that’s why she couldn’t get back against the current! She had been to tired!_ Adrien couldn’t help but smirk. Oh, how clever he was. He had figured it out. His lady just needed some more sleep! That was all! He’d make sure his princess was getting enough sleep starting that night.

When she’d be safe in her bed.

And not in the local morgue.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The fight drawled on for another half hour, and Ladybug was getting more clumsy by the minute. He had to wrap this up fast. The Akuma was nasty this time.

Hawkmoth seemed to have targeted an old man who had just lost his wife, and now the poor old soul was out to make everyone “Appreciate what they have.”

One hit with one of his photos forces someone visualize the person they loved the most dying. It was sickening, really. Knowing that Hawkmoth preyed on even mourning old men left a sour taste in his mouth.

He was starting to zone out, thinking about how much pain that man must have felt. He’d only known Marinette for about two years, and it felt like his whole world came crashing down. But imagine losing someone you’ve known for almost your whole life; Adrien didn’t think he could have handled that.

“Gotcha!” He looked up to see his lady destroying an old Polaroid camera. The disgusting bug flew out and Ladybug quickly caught it.

His heart stopped. He knew this scene well. After all, he replayed it in his mind everyday since she had died. This is where it all had gone wrong. He lurched forward and blocked the Akuma from getting one last lucky hit on his lady.

“I don’t think so.” He growled, blocking the blow with ease. He quickly kicked the monster back to the ground, placing ample space between that thing and his lady. The pure white butterfly had been released, the cure had been used, and his lady was still in front of him living and breathing.

_Mission complete._

“Well, Kitty, looks like our timers are almost up!” Ladybug said, motioning towards his ring. “We better split.”

“Right. Looks like your knight in shining armor has to be off! Adieu, my lady!” He would stop her, but now wasn’t the right time to reveal himself. He’d figure that hurdle out later.

“Adieu, Chat Noir!” And with that, she was off. Off to conquer the world with her charm. Adrien chuckled, but he could help but feel something was off. Ladybug had looked so tired, like her energy was depleting faster than normal. Marinette had been energetic earlier, what had happened?

Oh well, it didn’t matter anymore. She was alive, she was safe. All his prayers were answered.

“Oh my gosh! Ladybug fell in!” Suddenly, it mattered. Chat’s blood hadn’t gone this cold since the first incident. He turned to look, and lo&behold, there she was. He barely had time to think before he jumped into the river after her.

_But, I stopped her from getting shoved in! This shouldn’t be happening!_

“C-chat...! Help! I-I can’t swim well-” She tried calling for it, but she could barely keep her eyes open. Her voice was drowned out with the water and went under. Chat, thinking quickly, instantly grabbed her and pulled her up.

“Don’t worry, Ladybug! I got you!” He reassured, keeping a firm grip on her. He reached for his baton, only to find it wasn’t there. _That could be possibly the most detrimental thing to plan right now._ He thought to himself grimly.

“C-chat, I don’t know what happened, I just got so dizzy all of a sudden!” A beep resounded as she tried to explain, and he could see her stating to go pale with fear. “My transformation... it’s about to...” She didn’t even get to finish. And just like that, there was Marinette Dupain-Cheng instead.

Not that it shocked him, he had had plenty of time to cope with the fact, but the no one else had. There were collective gasps from the on lookers, most of them putting their phones away out of respect.

Tikki zoomed out and rested on Marinette’s head, utterly too exhausted to be of any help to them. “Tikki! Are you okay!?” Marinette asked, sounding more panicked by the syllable. Tikki nodded her head, but couldn’t suppress the shiver that crawled up her back. The water was freezing, he couldn’t blame her. “M-marinette, I’m gonna be okay. Just focus on getting to shore. It’ll all be okay!” The small kwami commented, looking down at her chosen.

Chat knew that wasn’t true though, because the dam was coming up soon. The under pull was strong, and it took all of his effort just to not get sucked under. If he didn’t figure out a solution and soon, they’d both be sleeping with the fishes. He couldn’t distract himself with those thoughts right then, though.

Right now, he had to focus on surviving. The adrenaline made it hard to focus on where he needed to go, and his breathing was becoming labored due to all the oxygen his muscles demanded more of.

The chances for surviving this were looking increasingly slim. Had anyone called the authorities yet? He hoped so. Because with the way the water was rushing to the dam, he couldn’t swim well against it and he could use some help.

“Help!” He yelled, knowing his own transformation was going to come off soon. When that happened, he knew he was in immensely more trouble. The suit protected them from the freezing temperatures of the Seine. But without it, he knew that he’d get hypothermia fast.

Taking another big breath, he screamed at the top of his lungs. “Help!” He heard the last beep go off, and in a burst of light he suddenly became extremely cold. “Shit.” was all he could muster to say. And really, what else could he have said? “ _Good golly there goes my identity for the whole world to see.”?_ Of course not.

Plagg, already knowing where this was heading, used the last of his strength to go get someone to throw them a life preserver.

They were all along the Seine incase someone fell in, and why no one had thrown them once was beyond him. Honestly, these stupid humans.

“A-Adrien..?” Marinette’s weak voice pierced his heart and shattered it into a million pieces. She sounded so scared, so shocked. “Y-you’re Chat Noir?”

_Don’t focus on her voice, focus on staying alive to hear that voice again._

“Don’t worry, princess, I’ll get us out of this. What kind of knight would i be if I didn’t? We’ll talk later, okay? I just need you to trust me!” She looked at him with desperation and fear in her eyes. “Please, just trust me. Trust me to get you out alive.”

“Okay, I trust you.”

That was all he needed to put a little more kick into his swimming efforts. He turned and saw the dam, only yards away. He felt the familiar fear clench his gut as his attempts to get to shore became more frantic. He couldn’t do almost anything but try to get her farther from the dam. He had already given up getting to the shore, but if Plagg could get someone to throw them a life preserver, he could get them out of there.

Plagg would have gotten it to them sooner, if he hadn't had to deal with the screaming every human he tried to talk to emitted. Honestly, he just looked like a flying cat. There was nothing special about that compared to the monsters they see on a basically daily basis.

 _Tch. Humans._ Plagg thought bitterly. _Really, do you not know how dire the situation is right now? My kitten is about to be swept up by that unholy man made machine and you are just going to stand there and gawk? Nice one, humanity._

Finally, he had gotten a hold of someone. It was a younger boy, who probably had seen enough fantasy video games not to be freaked out by Plagg.

The boy threw out the preserver, but it landed a little farther away than planned. “Chat Noir, to the right!” Adrien swam with all his might, and had gotten Marinette secured to it within seconds.

He was about to have the boy pull them to shore, but he was submerged and in the turmoil before he could. He remembered being cold, and bright, blinding lights. He could pick out Marinette’s cries through the ringing in his ears. Then, everything went black.

 

* * *

 

Adrien woke up that same day in his bed, screaming like he was being murdered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't like dams. They give me nightmares, and I am extremely afraid of them.   
> Please comment and give kudos please ! They give me encouragement!


	4. Defunct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tries again to figure out what had gone wrong, and seems to have missed an important detail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally hauled ass and wrote this. Please enjoy!

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1\. no longer existing or functioning

Okay, so his last plan didn’t exactly go all that well. That was probably the most traumatizing incident in his whole life, and I mean, what can be more traumatizing than that to be honest? He just drowned.

And what better way to express the sheer terror he felt other than to scream bloody murder at the top of his lungs?

Nathalie awoke to the shrill screams of the Agreste child, and to say she was a little alarmed was a criminal understatement. Why would anyone be awake and screeching at the unholy hour of two A.M. unless they were being murdered? Half-awake, she high-tailed it over to Adrien’s room and threw the door open. “Adrien?!”

Adrien’s head shot over to her, allowing her to see the blood shot eyes of her unofficial charge. He was visibly shaking, his breathing labored and shallow. “I heard screaming, are you okay?” She took a few steps towards him, inspecting for injury.

Adrien opened his mouth to speak a few times, but words failed him. He took a deep breath, counted to ten, and somehow managed to get a legible sentence out. “Yeah, i-it was just a dream.” Nathalie looked unconvinced, “I watched something scary last night, my bad. I’m fine now, you can go back. Sorry for waking you.”

Nathalie gave him a strange look, but nodded anyway. She hesitantly left the room, making note to restrict Adrien’s internet allowance. _What was that boy looking up that could give him a nightmare? Nothing he should be, obviously._

Adrien didn’t fall asleep again after that. He had some therapeutic conversation time with Plagg and tried to distract himself with anime. By the time breakfast rolled around, he was significantly more calm. Adrien dragged his sorry butt out of his room and went through the morning like he usually would.

Nathalie told him she had cut some of his schedule, which was the first good thing that had happened this whole time. For once, he was glad to be alone at breakfast. He could have some quiet time to figure out what had gone wrong with Marinette. “Okay Plagg, so I know she was extremely tired after the fight. I mean, it was a difficult fight after all. No big deal, I’ll just take her home myself!”

“Which means you have to reveal that you know who she is. Which also means you could accidentally destroy the and with it the universe. Wake me up when you think of something worth listening too.” Plagg grumbled and plopped into Adrien’s pocket.

“Plagg. Plagg, wake up.” Adrien poked his small companion, almost getting his finger bitten off in the processes

“Why must you do this to me?” Plagg muttered, turning to give a harsh look at his user.

“What do you want?”

“I need to ask some questions, it’s important.”

“Not more important than my sleep schedule. It can wait.”

“Can I reveal myself to ladybug”

“I just said ‘it can wait’. Are you losing your hearing? But if you must know now, then the answer is yes. Go wild.”

“Plagg, I have an idea. How about I just bring her to my house!”

“You’re truly a genius, when do you get your nobel prize?” The Kwami rolled over in the pocket away from Adrien, falling back to sleep instantly.

“Haha, very funny.” 

* * *

 

Adrien stared at Marinette all morning, not even trying to hid his ogling. He watched her like a hawk (moth), analyzing every movement with terrifying precision.

As a good friend, Nino immediately noticed something off with his best bud. His new found interest in the Asian girl certainly raised eyebrows. Scratch that, interest couldn’t even begin to describe it. More like obsession. All morning it had been ‘Marinette this’ and ‘Marinette that’, and quiet honestly it was freaky. But, Nino was all for letting people do their thing. Maybe Adrien had developed a crush on her and just didn’t know how to handle it? Either way, it wasn’t his place to say or do anything about it.

“Nino do you think she got enough sleep last night? I mean, if you look closely enough you can see bags but I don’t know if it’s the lighting or not.” Okay, no; it was time for intervention.

“Adrien, you know I already approve of whatever your romantic interests are, but this has gone too far. Why the hell are you stalking Marinette?” Adrien’s head whipped around to face his friend with menacing promptness.

“Nino, don’t say things like that so loud! And, for the record, I don’t stalk; I investigate. There is a fine line between the two.” Adrien hissed, narrowing his eyes a bit.

“Investigate? For what?”

“The greater good of Paris.”

“Are you okay?” _No, I haven’t slept correctly in weeks and I have to relive the love of my life’s death over an over again in different traumatizing fashions; Why do you ask?_

“Of course I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just admitted to ogling Marinette for the greater good of Paris.”

“Point taken.” Adrien was about to defend himself when Chloe's indignant squawking cut him off.

“Don’t you know who I am, bakers girl?”

“How could I not, you throw your title around like it’s as common of a word like bread. The real question is, is do you know who I am? I am the class president. And I help keep order in the class. So Chloe, you can take your things, and leave to Mr. Damocles’s office.”

“Marinette, kick her ass!” The words left his mouth ebfore he could stop himself. The whole class turned their eyes to the blond, amusement sparkling. Marinette turned red, a huge smile gracing her lips.

Chloe let out another screech. “Adrikins, how could you possibly say such a thing.”

Adrien almost apologized to her, before he remembered how many times he had turned his back on Marinette in favor of Chloe. “Chloe, I think we all agree with Marinette on this one. You’re a vixen, so how about you haul your ass to Mr. Damocles’s office and leave us alone.”

“Heck yeah, tell her Agreste!” Kim hollered, adding to the effect.

Chloe stormed out of the class room, and as she slammed the door the room erupted in cheers. Marinette looked over to him, adorning the most precious smile he’s ever seen before.

“T-thanks for standing u-up with me, A-adrien. It m-ment a lot.”

“Of course, what are friends for?” Adrien smiled back, high-fiving his lady.

Nino stared warily at his friend at first, but smirked and gave him a thumbs up. Who was he to judge them?

* * *

 

Class had broke for lunch, and as Adrien raced to the bathroom. After checking to make sure he was alone, he opened his bag and peered inside to face the Kwami resting inside it.

“Plagg! I don’t get it, Marinette seems so energetic right now, how could she have crashed after the fight?”

“Don’t ask me, kid, everyone is different. Just keep an eye on her, okay? Now go get me something to eat, I’m starving. you haven’t fed me in four hours. That’s just cruel.”

“Oh, shush. You’ll live.” Adrien was just leaving the bathroom when he thought he saw Chloe closing a locker that was not her own.

But, he didn’t have to dwell on Chloe’s dumb, harmless pranks right now. There was going to be an Akuma attack any minute now, and dammit, he had to be ready to go. Still... What ever she was doing probably wasn’t going to be pleasant. However, he doubted it could have any real consequence because Marinette couldn’t become akumatized.

“Akuma!” Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

“Plagg, Claws out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment. Comments make me happy. Kudos too.


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